What is Baby Led Weaning?

Baby led weaning, or BLW for short is having your child feed themselves what they want and how much they want.  This allows your baby to make the choices they want.  You can start baby led weaning as long as the baby is over 6 months old and starts to show an interest in your plate.  BLW is all about skipping the purees and going right for finger food.  Purees contain so many empty calories and they contain unhealthy starch.  Baby food companies also dilute the baby food which lowers the nutrient amount.

If they refuse any food now, be sure to try again later.  Just because they didn't enjoy it now, doesn't mean they won't later.

Always remember to offer breast milk first.  There is no reason your baby should be eating solids to get a full stomach before the age of one.  This stage is about letting your baby explore different tastes and textures.

Some good tips on offering your baby food is to try a whole banana with the peel on the end so they can hold onto it, strips of cucumber, avocado slices about 2 inches big and pieces of broccoli (make sure you leave the stem so they can hold onto it while sucking on the top of the tree).

There are certain types of food you should just not offer to your baby.

DO NOT OFFER YOUR BABY
-Honey
-Shellfish
-Peanut butter
-Shark
-Undercooked eggs
-Food that is high in fiber
-Chips, sugar, junk food or any hydrogenated fats
-Anything with additives in it including yellow #5, yellow #6, red #40
-Artificial preservatives or sweeteners

OFFER YOUR BABY
-Fruits (bananas are a great start)
-Vegetables (avocado, sweet potatoes, etc.)
-Eggs
-Chickpeas
-Brown rice
-Peas
-Lentils
-Chicken and red meat

Please share your favorite BLW meals!  Also, be sure to check out my related article "Food Under One is Just For Fun".